Services were forced to act swiftly and direct the mass population of civilians away from the area upon finding the suspicious item. Police began evacuating people out of Chatelet, the public square in Paris located the right bank of the river Seine - where the opening ceremony was due to take place just moments later.
The opening ceremony in Paris is set be the first Olympics opening ceremony staged for the first time outside a stadium. There are approximately 80 boats ferrying international athletes on a stunning route along the river Seine towards the Eiffel Tower.
Athletes and performers will sail past some of the French capital's most iconic landmarks. The parade of athletes will be held on the Seine with boats for each national delegation which will travel from east to west, carrying the 10,500 athletes through the centre of Paris.
The parade will come to the end of its 6-kilometre route in front of the Trocadero, where the remaining elements of Olympic protocol and final shows will take place. With plenty of fans, world leaders, and athletes in attendance, the opening ceremony will have over 45,000 police officers to secure the area - and the incident in Chatelet highlights the tense atmosphere ahead of the celebrated event.
Earlier this month, Games head of planning and coordination Lambis Konstantinidis revealed there will be extra security measures in place with more than 300,000 spectators expected to watch - with no admission fee for most. He told reporters: “It's a six km route, so it's a huge perimeter to monitor. That's why we need that many (security) people. Our security plans are very dynamic. They always take into consideration the latest events and try to adapt.”
Konstantinidis was speaking during a tour of the Games' security headquarters in Paris, adding that they were in close contact with counterparts abroad. He also insisted the assassination attempt against former U.S. president Donald Trump at an election rally in Pennsylvania has not changed the security plans for the upcoming Olympics.
“We have very close collaboration with the U.S. security services and its secret service. So we are sharing also any information we have,” Konstantinidis said. “We're very confident that we're on the same page but we have not had to change any of our plans as a result of that very unfortunate incident.”
Konstantinidis also confirmed more than 100 people will be working around the clock at the Games' security headquarters in Saint-Denis, just outside Paris. There are plenty of measures in place to ensure the safety of all ahead of the Olympics’ anticipated start.
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